Authors:
Katie Seaborn
1
;
Peter Pennefather
1
and
Deborah I. Fels
2
Affiliations:
1
University of Toronto, Canada
;
2
University of Toronto and Ryerson University, Canada
Keyword(s):
Human Factors, Eudaimonics, Hedonomics, Well-Being, Quality of Life, Eudaimonia, Hedonia.
Abstract:
Well-being/quality of life has emerged as a strand of inquiry in human factors research that has expanded
the field’s reach to matters beyond fit, functionality and usability. This effort has been spearheaded by
“hedonomics,” a human factors conceptualization of well-being that reflects the philosophical notion of
hedonia, traditionally defined as pleasure. However, recent work in the psychology of well-being has shown
that hedonia constitutes only one facet of well-being. In light of this, the concept of “eudaimonics” as a
complement to hedonomics is introduced. First, these concepts are positioned relative to their counterparts
in philosophy: where hedonomics is characterized by pleasure and avoidance of pain (hedonia),
eudaimonics is characterized by flourishing and personal excellence (eudaimonia). Following this, a
working conceptual framework for eudaimonics that is informed by the psychological literature is
presented. An expansion of the hedonomics model of design priority hi
erarchy is offered. Applications to
the domains of ageing well and technologies for older populations are proposed. Directions for future work,
including the adoption and modification of psychology instruments for human factors research, is discussed.
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